1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stoves or grills for cooking food. The stove or grill has a cook top or hob that is made of heat conducting material, such as glass ceramic. The cook top has cooking zones for heating cooking utensils located thereon.
This invention further relates to a glass ceramic plate for use in a cook stove or a grilling unit.
2. Background of the Invention
A glass ceramic plate of the prior art is described in EP 0 231 529 B1. Randomly distributed elevations are provided on the surface to ensure that a decorative coating is not abraded and scratched in a visually undesirable manner by cooking vessels being dragged along the cook top and/or by cleaning agents.
German Patent No. 34 33 880 A1 discloses a glass ceramic plate, the decorative coating of which is visibly interrupted in the vicinity of each cooking zone of the glass ceramic plate, to make it possible to scrape off burnt-on food that has been spilled or overflowed from a cooking vessel without thereby damaging the decorative coating. The interruption is necessarily not deeper than the thickness of the decorative coating. Therefore, it can hold only very small quantities of food that have spilled or overflowed.
German Utility Model No. 70 14 047 discloses a grilling and roasting unit in which a grease collection groove runs around a steel plate. The grease groove is formed by a U-shaped profile that is welded onto the steel plate. This configuration is obviously not suitable for use on glass ceramic plates.
On the underside of glass ceramic plates of cook stoves of the prior art, in addition to the cooking zones, there are frequently display elements and/or control elements that are visible or can be activated through the glass ceramic plate.
German Patent No. 295 19 714 U1 describes an operating element on a dielectric plate, in particular a glass ceramic plate, of a household appliance. The plate is provided with a thickness-reducing fingertip-sized indentation opposite a sensing electrode or tap. It is thereby possible for the user to locate a control or operating position with a fingertip even without being able to see it. The functional zones are not defined or separated by different plate thicknesses.
One object of the invention, on a cook top or hob of a stove or grill of the type described above, is to define and separate different cooking or heating zones from one another visually and tactilely.
The object of the invention, on a glass ceramic plate of the type described above, is to define and separate different zones from one another visually and tactilely.
The invention teaches that at least one groove-shaped depression is realized on the surface of the glass ceramic plate.
The depression has the advantage that it visually separates the individual zones from one another, which facilitates for the user his orientation on the glass ceramic plate. It is thereby possible to substantially eliminate a decorative coating of the glass ceramic plate in whole or in part.
The depressions can be felt by the user, so that he can find certain zones even under conditions of poor visibility.
For the depressions, it is also advantageous that they can hold any food that is being cooked and spills or overflows from cooking vessels, so that the food being cooked does not flow directly into neighboring zones. The depressions are also easy to clean using a scraper that has a profile that in particular matches the cross section profile of the depressions.
In one preferred realization of the invention, the depressions are polished, whereby they also form a clear visual contrast with respect to the glass ceramic plate. The polishing also facilitates the cleaning of the depressions.
The above-discussed embodiments of the present invention will be described further hereinbelow. When the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d is used in this specification, the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d includes xe2x80x9cinventionsxe2x80x9d, that is the plural of xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d. By stating xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d, the Applicant does not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintains that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. The Applicant hereby asserts that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.